According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Pete Alonso free agency saga is officially over, as the slugging first baseman is set to return to the New York Mets pending a physical. The deal is worth $54 million over two years and includes an opt-out after the 2025 campaign. Alonso will reportedly earn $30 million this year and can test free agency next winter with his opt-out.

It was a drawn-out process for the Scott Boras client, with the hot stove continuously churning out rumours about whether the ‘Polar Bear’ would return to Queens after spending the past six years with the organization.

Making his debut in 2019, Alonso earned the NL Rookie of the Year honour when he posted a league-leading 53 home runs with a .260/.358/.583 slash line with a .941 OPS and a 147 OPS+. Even during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, the right-handed batter clubbed 16 round-trippers and collected at least 30+ home runs every other season while suiting up in 846 games out of the possible 870. Across his career, Alonso owns a .249/.339/.514 slash line with a .854 OP and has collected 142 doubles and 586 RBIs. His 226 home runs are the second most since 2019, with only Aaron Judge tacking on six more homers during the same span.

Last season was a bit of a down year for the slugger, as he posted a .240/.329/.459 slash line and saw his OPS fall below the .800 mark for the first time in his career. The 34 home runs were also a single-season career-low (excluding 2020) and he saw an uptick in the strikeouts to a 24.7% rate. Posting a 2.6 bWAR while suiting up in all 162 games, the Florida product still produced an 84th percentile batting run value (+19) with a .340 wOBA and a 10.1% walk rate. While his bat is his calling card, Alonso will return to the right side of the diamond for the Mets, where he owns a career .992 fielding percentage and a +2 DRS, although he saw a drop in his on-field production last year to the tune of a -3 DRS mark and a -9 OAA, ranking in the third percentile.

Alonso and the Mets seemed to be heading their separate ways, especially after the recent comments by Mets owner Steve Cohen regarding the contract negotiations with the slugger. The four-time All-Star was looking for a deal with opt-outs, looking to up his value for another crack at free agency in short order, while New York appeared less interested in a deal that included opt-outs to keep Alonso around for a longer committed time. It got to a point where the Mets were reportedly informing a few players to take some reps at first base in the event he departed.

In the end, it was the Mets who cracked first, and the slugger can test free agency again next season and will likely rank in the top ten of available players and potentially be the top first baseman option available, depending on whether the Blue Jays can extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or not over the coming weeks. The benefit for Alonso is next offseason, he will not be tied to a qualifying offer should he post strong numbers and want to test the market for a bigger payday.

The Blue Jays were heavily tied to Alonso, reportedly having a three-year offer on the table and numerous New York media tying him to Toronto with an impending departure from the Mets over the past month. While it seemed like a long time for the club to lure the slugger away from New York, a trio of Guerrero Jr., Alonso, and Anthony Santander would have been a fun sight to see at the Rogers Centre and a menace for any opposing pitcher on any given night regardless of the positional fit on the field.